New test methods to verify the performance of chemical injections to deal with rising damp

The injection of chemical products, meant to penetrate in the capillaries of the materials composing an affected wall, is perhaps the most diffused method to deal with rising damp. The majority of these chemical products are hydrophobic treatments; they can be either solvent-based or (increasingly) water-based. Traditionally, these products are liquid. In the last years however, a tendency towards the use of cream-like products can be observed. From practice, quite contradictory opinions arrive with respect to the effectiveness of injections and quite often disputes develop between building owner and executing contractor on the performance of the treatment. Sometimes the slow drying of humid walls is used to cover a failing treatment; in other cases, it is not clear whether the injection or a simultaneously applied restoration plaster is responsible for a visual improvement. Research was performed in order to establish a method to evaluate the effectiveness of injection methods in a simple and quick way, both for assessing performance in practice and for use in laboratory. Interesting side effect of the research program was that also several essential parameters, influencing the effectiveness of chemical products, became evident. In this article, focus will be on the quick assessment method for practice.